Cagliari could strike over stadium

Cagliari captain Daniele Conti has threatened to go on strike if his club's stadium problems are not resolved soon.

Cagliari fans are being forced to travel away from their usual Stadio Sant Elia.

The Sardinian club continue to stage their home games in the distant Trieste -- an 800km flight away -- due to bureaucratic problems regarding their Stadio Sant'Elia home, which still does not meet league requirements.

They staged several games last season at the Is Arenas ground close to the Sardinian capital, but abandoned plans to make that their permanent home this summer, opting instead to focus attention on bringing the Sant'Elia up to scratch. However, work is still not complete and a safety certificate has not been issued, meaning their next home game against Catania on October 19 risks being played in Trieste.

That game risks not going ahead at all, according to Conti, who is to gauge opinion among his team-mates about going on strike.

"The club promised us a stadium, but at the moment nothing is moving," Conti said. "I don't know whose fault it is and it doesn't interest me either. All I want is to return to playing in Cagliari. We're tired of playing in Trieste. For the past two years we've been forced to play away and it's hard without our own fans.

"We're making this appeal so that something starts moving. We've played three games in a week, spending more time on a plane than at home, and after so many words, it's time for action. Words get taken away by the wind. We need to send out a strong signal."

That signal could be in the form of a strike. "I'm going to talk about it with my team mates," continued Conti at a press conference. "If it were up to me, I would do it. I signed for Cagliari to be able to play in Cagliari."

Cagliari will be boarding a plane for the familiar trip to Trieste again this weekend, albeit for an actual away fixture, at Udinese. If Conti gets his way, it will be the last time they make that trip this season.